Republican State Senator Josh McKoon voted in favor of the bill, telling WRBL he believes it would actually keep you safer.

"A criminal is not going to be concerned about a law that says you can't carry a gun in a particular area," said McKoon. "So the impact of these laws is that they cause law-abiding citizens to voluntarily disarm themselves and be sitting ducks if there was a situation where a criminal started shooting."

Gov. Deal defended the bill as important to Second Amendment rights, reports CBS affiliate WGCL in Atlanta.

"This legislation will protect the constitutional rights of Georgians who have gone through a background check to legally obtain a Georgia Weapons Carry License," Deal said. "Roughly 500,000 Georgia citizens have a permit of this kind, which is approximately 5 percent of our population. License holders have passed background checks and are in good standing with the law. This law gives added protections to those who have played by the rules - and who can protect themselves and others from those who don't play by the rules."